I would appreciate guidance on this.

Andrea

Thanks for the detailed response and the encouragement.

Let me know if you pass by Luxembourg when in Europe!

All the best,

Andy

Thanks for the kudos on the site! I definitely hope to write up my own recovery story and put it up on this site. It’s been percolating in my head for a long time now. In April I’m going to visit my sister in Europe and take a break from science for a while. When I return I think I’ll be full of energy and hope to write the piece then. There’s a lot I want to say and a lot of the story that I know will bring back many emotions as I write. Gladly it has a happy ending!

It definitely sounds like you harbor some of the Th1 pathogens (the persistent, biofilm/intracellular bacteria) that patients on the Marshall Protocol appear to be killing. That these bacteria don’t show up conventional blood tests is no surprise at all. To date, scientists haven’t even characterized 1% of the bacteria that live in or on humans, yet alone create blood tests to detect them. So very, very few bacteria grow in the conditions used by people who run current lab tests and such species are not even likely to be the primary pathogens causing your symptoms.

I hope to put up a short article soon about a new study that used new molecular techniques to detect bacteria in the mouth. The team detected over 600 species in the mouth, 64 of which had never been characterized – few, if any of which would show up on any clinical blood test. Add to that the fact that even detectable bacteria can turn into cell wall-less or other forms where they grow under different conditions and then fail to show up on lab tests for that reason.

Right now you seem to have quite a few symptoms of “unknown” cause. They are all symptoms that other patients on the MP have recovered from. In fact, respiratory problems, GI symptoms, and dizziness are probably three of the top five symptoms experienced by MP patients that later clear up.

Then, your low 25-D level is a huge indicator that chronic bacteria are dysregulating your Vitamin D Receptor and subsequently your innate immune response. As you may have read, we see a low 25-D in patients to be a sign that the level is being downregulated by the bacteria responsible for chronic symptoms. Read more here in a paper that was just published on the topic in Autoimmunity Reviews (I am one of the authors):

http://autoimmunityresearch.org/transcripts/AR-Albert-VitD.pdf

So based on the above, I think you’d be an ideal candidate for the MP. Since your symptoms have only recently started I think that your bacterial load is probably relatively low compared to others on the treatment and that you should make good progress if you start. When it comes to the MP, the earlier you start the treatment, the shorter it generally takes to recover.

So I say go for it! If anything, at least try taking the MP medications and see if you experience a die-off reaction or immunopathology. If you do, you are almost certainly killing bacteria and targeting the root cause of your symptoms.

Don’t forget that if you have questions about the MP, another good place to ask them is at http://www.curemyth1.org (Th1 refers to diseases caused by bacteria, hence the name) The patient advocates on the site, who answer questions free of charge, can help you find a new MP doctor or give you materials about the MP to present to your current doctor.

Good luck!

Amy

This is quite an impressive website, I commend you on your energy and all the great articles that you’re publishing. Looks like you’re at the cutting edge of a real breakthrough.

Will you also post your own success story? Or have you already done so?

A question of personal interest, if I may have one.

After a four-day bout of disease involving dizziness, fever, extreme fatigue and GI symptoms, I got better… But in a few weeks, the GI symptoms and the dizziness have come back, gradually worsening for five months now. I’ve also started to fight various respiratory problems. I’m also getting more and more fatigued.

Abdominal CT was clear, bloodwork all normal, negative for several pathogens including mycoplasma and borrelia, sed rate and CRP also low… the only thing abnormal was a 25D level of 15, which is pretty low. 12,5D wasn’t tested.

My doctor is certain that I have no infection, based on all the above as well as the blood counts.

Do you think I may still be a candidate for the MP? I’m also getting some imaging studies done to rule out cancer or other brain lesions, but if those turn out clear, there will be no explanation whatsoever for my bad condition.

Can the blood test results be so deceiving?

I’m 34, male, doing sports (until recently), I’ve been in good health, and had high energy levels. The worsening of my condition has not only scared me a lot, but it also makes me more and more depressed. It would be great to find a way out, and medicine has been pretty clueless so far. Thanks for any help!

I’m very glad that you want to truly recover from your illness rather than only temporarily palliate the symptoms of the disease.

Your plan sounds good. You need to wean off any steroids before starting the MP. Then start it under the guidance of your doctor. If necessary you may want to switch doctors to work with one who has more MP experience.

At this point I recommend that you post about your plans at the following website:

http://www.curemyth1.org (Th1 refers to disease caused by bacteria, hence the name). The nurse moderators and patient advocates on the site, who are volunteers, are trained in helping people start the MP correctly.

I would defer to them about how to start the MP. They can provide you with exact guidelines that tell you how to most effectively wean from your steroids. They will also tell you what bloodwork you might want to get done and help you find and MP doctor if necessary.

Good luck and I hope your brother can also do the MP at some as well!

Best,

Amy

I take steroids and immunosupressants for my Grade 2 sacroidosis (lungs) to reduce inflammation, and then move to MP

Background:
Recent CT contrast scan reveal fibrosis in the lungs, so its not good and my lung function has gone down. My brother had the same situation and traditional steroid treatment resulted in ‘remission’ and clear lungs.

As with my brother, I may also respond favorably to steroids (at least to ease the inflammation).

MP is the cure, so I then wean on steroids, and start with the protocol when Im in better shape.

Does this sound acceptable approach or has any major flaws? My reason is that the lungs have deteriorated very fast, and I may first need a quick fix to feel better before I start on the real cure.

Thanks and regards
Tarun

I’m sorry. Your question seems to have slipped by. That happens sometimes for pre-approved commenters.

To answer your question, I believe it would be a mistake to say that olmesartan activates the VDR 100%. If you look at the table on page 12, of Trevor Marshall’s Bio21 transcript, you’ll see there are ARBs with a greater affinity than olmesartan. So, it’s not a question of whether there’s a strong affinity – it’s the degree of the affinity. It needs to be just right. As they say on the MP site, “there is no substitute for olmesartan.” If you wish to make progress, I would recommend olmesartan.

Indeed, it can take a while for some people – more than a year – to lower one’s stores of 25-D even while restricting all intake of vitamin D. You just need to be sure that you’re not taking in any vitamin D.

Take care,
Amy

For my mild hypertension I take losartan which belongs to the group of angiotensin II receptor antagonists like olmetarsan used in the MP therapy. It protects against blockade if the VDR.
My first question is: is olmetarsan preventing blockade if the VDR completely (100%) and how much does losartan prevent?
My other question is: how long do you think it may take to lower my 25-D to a more healthy level?
Thanks
Andries

I’ve been writing on this site for two years and have heard from so many people who are desperately ill with chronic disease that I cannot imagine how many cancer patients you have seen suffer.

I’m very glad you found this site and I hope you take a good look at Dr. Marshall’s research on vitamin D because it makes for quite a compelling case that ingested vitamin D acts much like a secosteroid – slowing inflammation, but allowing bacteria that cause many chronic diseases to spread in the long run.

I would not feel bad about the fact that you treated your past patients with vitamin D. You were following exactly what the literature directed and doctors are taught to do. Unfortunately, those people involved in some of the latest research on vitamin D view the Vitamin D Council as extremists. The levels of vitamin D they recommend are ridiculous.

As you said, your 25-D is extremely high. It’s so high that it acting like a steroid. Somewhat like being on prednisone. I’m so glad you have stopped it. You may notice that you won’t feel quite as good as the vitamin D gets out of your system, because some previously suppressed inflammation will increase. But your immune system will be in much better shape. Since vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin it will take about 3-6 months to get out of your system.

Dr. Marshall has not yet written a paper that specifically discusses bipolar disorder. But if you study his model for chronic disease and the data from the MP study, different chronic diseases generally follow the same model. Increasing evidence indicates that inflammatory diseases (mental illnesses included) are caused by a variety of chronic pathogens – a metagenomic microbiota. Patients manifest with different diseases depending on which bacterial species they accumulate.

There are several people on the Marshall Protocol with bipolar disorder who are responding well to treatment. However, as you may have read, once patients begin the treatment their symptoms flare with each dose of antibiotics as bacteria are killed. This can be hard for people with mental illness to tolerate unless they have a good support structure in place (supportive and informed family members).

I hope you continue to read about the Marshall Protocol and related research on this site. Also Dr. Marshall’s published papers and presentation transcripts can be found here:

http://mpkb.org/doku.php/home:publications:home

Best,

Amy